Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil says the band’s newly-announced nomination for entry into the 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is important to the legacy of the group and its late singer Chris Cornell.
The Seattle outfit was named Tuesday among 16 artists on the short list for possible entry into the Cleveland, OH-based institution, with the nomination including Soundgarden’s final lineup of Cornell, Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron noted alongside founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto.
“I took some time and wrapped my head around it, and I felt good,” Thayil tells Billboard. “I thought this is important, especially for the legacy of Soundgarden, and for Chris' legacy. It's really important now to understand this from the perspective of the fans and to understand Soundgarden as both a current enterprise as well as a posthumous exercise.
“It is very bittersweet. Chris would be pleased with it. That's certainly different from where we were maybe in the '80s and early '90s, but I know from Chris attending one or two (induction ceremonies) and inducting Heart that he saw the significance of it and saw how important it was to the fans and to the bands being inducted, and he said, ‘Yes, this is very important and it's cool,’ so he would be very excited.”
The guitarist is pleased that Yamamoto’s contribution is being recognized by the Rock Hall.
“I definitely want Hiro to attend and participate in this,” says Thayil. “He was a founding member and very significant in crafting and establishing our sound and our style.”
The 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will be announced in December; the ceremony will take place at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH on May 2, 2020.
Soundgarden officially released a 2012 concert broadcast, “Live From The Artists Den”, in July and Thayil – who continues to oversee archival projects for the band – shared some insight into what fans can expect moving forward.
“The ‘Louder Than Love’ album just passed its 30 anniversary,” explains the guitarist. “We were very busy this year with other anniversary releases and, of course, the Artists Den release, but ‘Louder Than Love’ will get a special package, probably to celebrate its 31st anniversary.
"And I think we'd like to put the 'Louder Than Live' album out; it was released promotionally back in the day but never available commercially. Since it's all over YouTube we should make a nice little package available for release, including the DV, which was us live at The Whisky in Los Angeles; that would be the one document of (bassist) Jason Everman's time with us.”
See also:
Soundgarden, Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy lead 2020 Rock Hall nominees
Gibson announces Chris Cornell signature tribute guitar
VIDEO: Soundgarden stream Black Hole Sun from Live From The Artists Den release
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Search Soundgarden at hennemusic
